Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Maine
Women's Basketball Falls Shy at Maine, 66-50
12/16/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 16, 1999
ORONO, Maine - The Northwestern women's basketball team dropped a 66-50 decision to Maine on Thursday night at the Black Bears' Alfond Arena. With the decision the Wildcats fell to 2-5 overall.
"We played well despite the loss, the best we've played all year," said Wildcat head coach June Olkowski after the game. "We have to build on something, and this is it."
For the second straight game the Wildcats were the victims of a slow start, as Maine quickly jumped out to a 15-4 lead. However, NU crawled back into the contest, and by halftime the score was 30-27 in favor of the Black Bears.
The success continued into the first minute of the second half, when Leslie Dolland dropped in a layup to make the score 30-29 and a pair of buckets by Leslie Schock kept the 'Cats within reach at 35-33. However, the Black Bears scored 10 of the next 12 points to take a 45-35 lead with 15 minutes to play.
Northwestern stayed in the hunt, drawing within five points on several occasions. But Maine had the answer each time, with the crushing blow being an 11-0 run during the game's final 2:24 that closed out the victory.
Tami Sears led three Wildcats in double figures, recording 12 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Schock and Dana Leonard each chipped in with 11 points. For Maine, Jamie Cassidy was unstoppable, with 29 points (on 11-of-16 shooting from the field) and 10 boards.
NU will be back in action Sunday afternoon, meeting nationally-ranked Boston College in a game that tips off at 3 p.m. Central Time.
